Destiny Drew Us Together
by BrownSugarC
Summary: The saga of 'My Heart is Singing' continues. Written multi-culturally, the pain and hurt of Sonja's and Christopher's personal and professional lives comes to light. Truly knowing your mate takes years. Prides' own martial difficulties helps him to guide the young lovers to a path where their relationship can grow and have a good chance to survive the pitfalls of life.
1. Chapter 1 - Missing Him

Missing Him

Already? There's the alarm. It's been a lonely two weeks without Christopher. Why couldn't Pride have sent Gregorio to LA instead of Chris? After all she speaks Spanish. It would have come in handy working the Mexican Federal Police. It's been six weeks since the Essence Festival and our joining at the hip.

Well one thing Chris' being away allowed me some one on one time with Gregorio. I could ignore her snips, comments and questions much longer with Christopher around. I was able to tell her just enough to pacify her but I did really mean it when I thanked her for 'us' that night and making the two us to verbally express what we were feeling for each other. It has erased the tension between the two of us and brought me a peace that I don't remember having since I went to college.

Every night after our shift we were able to laugh and talk. Neither of us had ever told anyone of some of the intimate details of our life experiences. And while we were great partners on the job before, this new familiarity has improved both our 'games'.

There is still some hurt down there about Savannah. If this goes farther, I would suspect that he will tell me about why he left her and came to 'Nola. I deduced that there was something going on between Chris and his father by some signals that he was giving the first time we talked about it.

I have room to talk. I have never told him about my stepfather and why I hated him so. He never said another word about it after he picked me up at the airport when I came back after he died. When he did ask me about it, I told him that I wanted to talk as much as he did about Tucker. And Tucker is another conversation we need to have. I see the hurt in his face so I will just leave it alone for right now.

Tammy had come through time after time for the team professionally and personally. She kept Chris' secret about Tucker for weeks and unbeknownst to me she often tried to make him confront his feelings for me. He told me that her calm voice about the sleeping around and Pride's professional and fatherly concern helped him get through the before and after Savannah's death, Tucker and Melody.

Heading off to work I get into the car and KMEZ radio is playing Roberta Flack's 'Killing Me Softly'.

As I perused the words, I could see my, I mean our, story woven into it.

 _Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words  
Killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song  
Telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song_

 _I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style  
_ _And so I came to see him and listen for a while  
And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes_

 _Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words  
Killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song  
Telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song_

 _I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd  
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud  
I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on_

 _Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words  
Killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song  
Telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song_

 _He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair  
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there  
And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong_

 _Strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his words  
Killing me softly with his song, killing me softly with his song  
Telling my whole life with his words, killing me softly with his song_

I don't remember Christopher getting into my heart. Like the song says, it was bit by bit, the softness of his voice, the timely advice, even his reactions to and interaction with Tucker. Chris looked past all that 'dirt' and found the real me in the heap. Even through his own pain Christopher had reached out me. I was just too hurt and angry to receive it at first. He told me one night that he found me to be like an onion and had to peel off one layer at a time. I'm glad that he persisted through the stink of my life and the difficulty of the task. For a year I had trusted Christopher LaSalle with my life and now I had found that I could trust him with my heart as well.


	2. Chapter 2 - Blindsided

Blindsided (2)

What a stretch. Once again I had to draw upon my mental toughness to get through these two weeks. LA is much different New Orleans. The people, the law enforcement system and that damn traffic. They don't even pull over for the blue lights but try to out run them with some idiotic passion.

The LA team seemed to work well together. I liked their supervisor Hattie and she was quite different than King or Gibbs. The whole team welcomed me with open arms. King thought that I needed to see how the LA Office interacts with the Mexican Federal Police. In addition to the drug trade from South America, we were also starting to see an uptick in flesh peddling. Prostitution peaked in 2009 when the Super Bowl was played at the Superdome. The high rollers expected it and it seemed that the women came and never left.

Agent Marty Deeks and I were on a stake out tracking a mule from the central part of Mexico. We saw her get off a plane and followed her to the bus station where she picked up a couple of suitcases. The ATF had already checked the suitcases and found them filled with illicit drugs. Now eighteen hours later we were still tracking her. We alternated sleeping that night with both of us being awake at first light.

It had taken me two or three days to realize that there was a relationship between Deeks and Agent Kensi Blye. So while Deeks and I were here on the stake out, I broached the subject gingerly. "Look" I said "I don't want to be nosey, but I was wondering if I was reading you right. There seems to be closeness between you and Blye." I saw a smile come over his face and he replied "you're right. We have been together as partners for six years and have been working on a relationship for a while now" "Oh", I said, "I think I am going to be in that same predicament and I don't know how to handle it with her or with my boss."

Deeks looked me square in the eye and said "man I don't really know you, but I have heard that you were kind of an institution in New Orleans. Let me tell you agent to agent, if you ain't in this for real then, don't go there. Any relationship you pursue with a coworker will eventually affect your whole team. If you dump her, the others will take sides. Even after Pride separates the two of you, there will be hostility with others who felt one of you was wrong. You were NOPD right? Who we talking about Gregorio or Percy? Mess with Gregorio and you have the Navy, Marine and FBI guys on your back. Mess with Percy and you will have to fight your own former NOPD and ATF agents.

"It's Percy" I admitted with some reservation now. I felt blindsided as this angle of the situation had not even crossed my mind. I had no doubt that if this went south that the women and Sabastian would side with Sonja. Pride would be neutral and Gregorio possibly stuck in the middle since she was the one who made us confront our feelings which resulted in our 'now'. Triple P would hang with me but never let me forget how stupid I was in the first place to get involved with a coworker.

"Look" I said, "I want to make this work. I've only seriously dated two other women but I have never met anyone like Sonja Percy. When we are on assignments, she knows what I am going to do sometimes before I do. And to be fair in all this, I am the one who has hurt her, hurt her bad with a woman from my past. There was an occurrence at my house when I felt that I had driven a stake through her heart. But even through that difficult time, she stood by me as a friend."

"So take it slow" Meeks goes on. "Let her choose the pace of the relationship. And don't be that womanizer LaSalle that I have heard about. Don't bring her to your bed unless she initiates it. Keep quietly searching for the many happy moments and/or any pain that may be in her life and be open with her about them. Don't make judgments and you may need to encourage her through the conversation by asking a clarifying question. I don't mean to open up a wound, but I heard that you lost someone last year." I nod. "Once you realize that Percy really does love you, start to share some of that pain and even the happy moments that you had with the other woman. That will allow her to be free and tell you about her own sorrows with men and I guarantee you that there are some in her life because you and I both know that men can be dogs."

Do you have a sister? Bounce some your concerns to your sister or another female friend. You're going to need help buying gifts. Then you are going to have to learn how to listen to a women, I mean really listen. They will 'tell' you things to tell you, not to have you fix it for them.

You said that you hurt her? You need to be ready for your own pain. She is going to wound you somehow. She may not even realize that she did it. But you are going to have to decide before it happens what your options are going to be. It's hard to let women 'be warriors' but they are trained just as well as men. In fact sometimes they get a lot more shit in training situations trying to prove themselves and come out of it better skilled and more determined not to fail.

All I can say is good luck. Oh, one more thing, if you're going to do this, you need to tell Pride when you know for sure you are solid and before he finds out on his own."

"Not so sure that I wanted to hear all of that but you have been here" I said quietly. "I don't want to mess this up. I know that she has a lot of pain. I have had to peel her like an onion and it hasn't been easy to do. Just when I think I might have something figured out, she either clams up or strikes out at me. I'm doing better about not being that almighty protective Chris, but I am not there yet and we have had plenty of arguments over it."

We looked up and see the woman that we were tailing came out of the building and we we're back on the clock just like that.

One thing, the paperwork is the same. I had to triple check mine since I won't be there to fill in any gaps of information. Finally my time is up. I took the hotel van to the airport Saturday morning and thought about Percy. I texted her with my flight number and the delayed arrival time. Can't wait to see her.

Sonja had been at the airport to meet me when the plane landed. We hugged that 'bro hug' in the airport terminal, but when we got into the parking ramp by the car, I pulled her into my arms. We lost track of the time and responded to a honk from a guy who wanted the slot next to Sonja's ride.

Sonja had already put a roast into the oven and it was almost burnt since the flight was delayed. I had put the first load of clothes in the washer and I ate it anyway watching her talk, fuss and rant about what had transpired during the two weeks that I was gone.

"Well after all that, did you miss me?" I said. Sonja gave me that exasperated look that only she can give and came over in sat down in my lap. Well, the kissing got hot and my body responded to the heat but I remember what Deeks had said and got up to put in the next load of clothes into the washer and the first one into the dryer and let the hard on soften.


	3. Chapter 3 - Facing Our Joy and Our Pain

Facing our joy and our pain (3)

I looked at the calendar this morning and realized that Thanksgiving was just two weeks away. Tonight I told Sonja on the way back to her place that it might be time to tell King and the rest of the team about us. I noted Triple P giving me some odd looks on guys' night out when my focus faded. I lost a couple of easy hands in poker one night and he asked me what the hell was going on. I played it off that I was worried about Cade again and he seemed to accept it. I expressed to her that I felt bad keeping my happy news from him.

Sonja agreed and said "well let's go in tomorrow before every else and talk to Pride" I nodded as I make a hard turn, backed up and went back in toward the French Quarter. Sonja's eyes got big as she looked at me. "We need to go somewhere first" I told her. Twenty minutes later I pulled up in front of my old place. "I'll be back" I told Percy as I climbed out of the truck. I walked up to the makeshift memorial on the sidewalk outside. There I found some faded flowers, notes, a couple of weather beaten stuffed animals, an American flag and faded pictures of Savannah and the two officers who were killed by Baitfish that horrible night.

I picked up a dried pink rose. It must have been left there by NOPD Officers who stopped by the site periodically. It touched me to realize that whoever had left it must have been at funeral home before I took her home to be buried. A large spray of pink roses just like this one had graced her coffin. They were her favorites.

I spoke out loud just as if she were actually there "I know it's been a while. It has been difficult to come back here but I have news. I hope you will understand that I finally listened to my mom and King, I'm moving on. Momma and Cade were really worried about me." At that a shadow appears behind me and I quickly turned to see Percy standing there. I stood up and took her hand. "I found someone to help me Savannah. She has been kind and thoughtful and encouraged me to grieve healthier.

No one can ever replace you but suddenly I found Percy, I mean Sonja, invading another spot in my heart. She continues to help me. We talk about you often and her care and concern for what I had with you has touched me."

At that Sonja forces a tissue into my hand. She saw the tears that I only now felt on my face. With my last words uttered, I turned and hugged Sonja and we walked hand in hand back to the truck.

I drove in silence back to my place. I turned to look at Sonja when I stopped at a light but she was looking out the window.

"Would you like some space" Sonja asked quietly, "I can go on home" "No" I responded "I think that this is another one of those times that I really need you here with me.

Sonja went into the kitchen to warm up some food that we had in the fridge. Unbeknownst to me, I drifted off to sleep. I woke up about 11:30 to a darkened house with a blanket over me; I wondered what happened to Sonja but dozed right back off without getting up.

Sonja called me the next morning about 7:00 and asked if she was driving over or if I was coming to get her. I told her "no, I'll come get you". I picked her up about 9:30 knowing that that would give us enough time to talk to King before Tammy, Sabastian and Triple P came in. Sonja told me that she had taken a taxi home the night before to give me some space.

We walked into the office to an appetizing smell that only King could make. King looked at his watch and then at us and said "aren't you a little early it's not even close to noon?" "Well" I said "we need to talk to you" We waited while King cooked his eggs and then we all sat down at the table.

"I'm not quite sure where to start. Remember that day when we were on the levy and you confronted me about my behavior" "Yah, I remember" King says "I needed you King. You helped me gain a better perspective. Right after that I moved. Sabastian and Sonja helped me with that.

Sonja and if you can believe it or not, Gregorio, helped me walk through the time when Melody showed up with Tucker. What you don't know is that Percy appeared unannounced one morning to pick me for a case and there was Tucker and Melody. King you warned me to tell her before that day but I could never find the right words to explain the result my bad behavior. King I have never seen such a horrible look on Sonja's face when she put the pieces together. It was liked I had driven a stake through her heart." Sonja takes my hand at that but King could not see it. "The reality was that Sonja suspected that I had feelings for her and I knew that I had them as well so this totally caught her off guard.

I didn't know the depth of her pain until one day at the morgue Miss Loretta asked me how Sonja was doing. I looked at her with an odd look." At that she said "you know Christopher, women have always been the one to bear the failure of a relationship". With that she immediately turned around and continued working on the body on her table. It took me quite a while to realize what she was trying to say to me. She had figured out that the friendship that we had had moved to something more than that for both Sonja and me.

One day when Melody was here, Sonja asked me what I wanted" inferring a full relationship with Melody "I told her that Melody wasn't my idea of a wife. The rest of the answer that I didn't say was that I wanted her."

At that King shifted uncomfortably in his chair getting the drift of where this conversation was going. King, you expect us to have each other's back and well it seems the women that we work with are a little better at it then we men. All the women including Brody saw what was right in front of my face.

Last summer during the Essence Festival Tammy tricked us." At that Sonja smiles. "An encounter that Tammy created forced us to admit that we had indeed developed feelings for each other."

"We wanted to tell you first Pride" Sonja says. We have given this a lot of thought. We have spent a lot of time a lot of time talking about ourselves, our past, are loves, our pain and our fears. Christopher has found a special place in my heart and I in his."

At that we both looked at King who by now has turned to a pasty shade of grey "Well this is a little unexpected" he said after a deafening period of silence. "I'm glad that you came to me. I don't remember reading anywhere where agents can't have a relationship. I hope that you have really thought about this. Relationships can dissolve and with a small team like ours cause a boatload of trouble in its wake.

"So when are you going to tell the rest the team?" "We thought at the Thanksgiving gathering" Sonja replied.

We left the room with the weight of the world lifted off our shoulders. As we walk out of the kitchen, we saw Gregorio with that smirk on her face. "So is the cat finally out of the bag?" she asks. "Yep" Sonja replied "and we lived."

Triple P and Sabastian still had no clue when we told them at the holiday dinner. Triple P just remarked "I knew something had LaSalle off his game." Loretta and Tammy came over and hugged us both.


	4. Chapter 4 - Christmas Comes Early

Christmas Comes Early (4)

Yesterday I was thinking how it was getting harder and harder to leave Christopher each night and thought maybe it was time. Chris had been so patient with me.

I texted Chris that I would drive in by myself this morning and got an instant response asking if everything was alright. I texted him back "of course Country Mouse, I just need to run some errands."

I called my gyno and they were able to work me in. Being around men all the time, I had been adamant to find a female gynecologist even if I did have to drive extra miles. We talked after she did her exams and the Pap Smear. The doctor told me that the nurse would be back to in to draw blood and give me the pee cup. She wrote out my 'script and I waited impatiently for the nurse. Come on, come on, the clock is ticking. I made it to the office stopping to get pastries for the rest of the team who were none the wiser.

Friday morning I made sure that I was at the door when Chris drove up. He, being a true southern gentleman, always came to the door. I didn't want him to see the surprise that I had for him inside.

"Sure you're okay City Mouse?" Chris asked at my silence in the truck. "Yes, I was just thinking."

That evening I told Chris that I needed to stop at the drug story on the way home. "Why don't you come in instead of sitting out here in the cold" I suggested. We walked in and I picked up a basket. I grabbed some nuts that I liked and headed toward the back. When I abruptly turned, Chris also did. Suddenly we were standing in front of the birth control section. I looked at him and told him that this was an early Christmas present and asked him if he had a preference. He looked back at me and realized that I was telling him that I was finally ready. He reached up, grabbed a box and threw them into the basket that I was holding. I headed on to pick up my 'script noticing that Chris was no longer following me.

In the truck Christopher asked me if I was sure that I was ready for this. I told him that I was and that I appreciated him not pressuring me.

"My place or yours" Chris asked. "Mine if you don't mind" I replied knowing that I had several special surprises waiting for him there.

We stopped for takeout and drove to my place to create the most special moment of our relationship.

LaSalle

Well, five months have passed since the Essence Festival. Percy said she had to stop and pick up a prescription and I got out too. She picked up a hand basket and headed toward the back of the store with me following close behind.

I could see the pickup sign straight ahead, but Percy took a turn and we were suddenly standing in front of the section that displayed condoms. "This is an early Christmas present. Do you have a preference" she asked? It took me a second to realize what she was saying. I have to admit I was surprised but I reached past her with my hand shaking and grabbed a box of Durex then dropped them into her basket. I stopped at the magazine rack as she went to the counter so that she couldn't see that whopper of a smile on my face.

We decided to go to her house that night and bought dinner on the way. I noticed the table was preset when we came into the house. It looked like a magazine cover. Percy had already put candles out around the front room and dining space and then she lit them and turned all the lights out. At the table she had moved her chair over to the space right next to me and we held hands as we ate while listening to this singer that I recognized but couldn't put a name to. "Who is this?" I asked "Roberta Flack and this next song, 'Killing Me Softly' is what I play when I want to bring you close to my heart. She told me a few of the lyrics emphasizing the words "He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair. And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there. And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong." "That is you" Sonja said just as soft.

After dinner we moved to the sofa where I pulled her into my lap. We kissed for a while, actually did some very heavy petting. She kind of slid off my lap and said she would be right back. Well right back extended into almost ten minutes. When Sonja came back she was wear this white teddy. She handed me the now opened box of Durex and whispered "here, you'll need these" and then took my hand pulling me toward her. I could see a glow from the bedroom as we walked down the hall and when I reached it saw that there were more candles than I could count. It ended being up a magical night. Now we were indeed truly one.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Sweetest Day

The Sweetest Day (5)

February came quickly and before we knew it Valentine's Day was here. I was just about to leave for work when I got a text message. It was Sonja. "Come on in when you get here". "Hey, what's up?" I asked as I came through the door. Here, I wanted to give this to you before we went to work. It will give you something to think about today. I looked up at her and saw that grin I knew, the one that says look out there's something wrong with the chair and you're going to fall when you sit down. I opened the box, pushed back the tissue and there was this red hot nightgown, fish net stockings and black garters. She laughed at the look on my face and said "I'll model it for you when we get back."

Sonja and Pride went to the morgue mid-morning. While she was gone, I went back to the fridge and got out the flowers that I had ordered and that Tammy had picked up for me. I sat those and a valentine decorated cup of red wrapped candy kisses on her desk.

I stopped Pride at the door allowing Sonja to walk ahead and we suddenly heard her squeal as she got to her desk and saw the vase filled with the two dozen red roses. Pride laughed and said "go ahead" as she hesitated and then rushed to kiss me.

She offered candy around to us all and also to Sebastian and Triple P when they came in later. Everyone who walked by the cup took a candy kiss out. Miss Loretta hurried in just before noon and we all went to the kitchen to eat.

Lunch was great. King out did himself. He winked at me knowing that this would turn out to be a very, very special day. Gregorio was ahead of us minus Sonja as we walked back toward the work space. She hollered back at Sonja who was still in the kitchen washing dishes. "There's something wrong with the mug that the candy was in.

Sonja came flying out of the back and grabbed the cup and by then could see something at the bottom. As she turned the cup upside down, the last two pieces of candy fell out along with a diamond engagement ring. Talk about a scream. She looked at me and then jumped into my arms "This is for me?" "Yes" I responded "it is if you will make me the happiest man in New Orleans and marry me" "Yes, I'll marry you" she responded as I swung her around nearly crying myself. Our co-workers burst into applause and hugged us and each other.

We were working in the squad room a few days later and the phone rang. I answered it and it was Brody. "Congratulations work husband. I couldn't be happier for you both. So when's the wedding?" "The week before the Essence Festival" I responded. We would have had it that week, but all of the hotels were booked up. "And where?" She followed up. "We are going back to the site of our first date, the Tulane University Museum" to answer Brody's question.

"Let me talk to Sonja"

"Hello?" "Hi Sonja, congratulations City Mouse. LaSalle just told me guys are getting married in July. Am I invited?" "Of course you are. We want you to be in the wedding. Do you want to stand with Chris or with me? We won't be hurt by you choosing one over the other; we just want you here with us." Girl, I love Chris, but you stood by me during those dark times as I grieved my sister and Agent Russo. I want to return the favor.

"Okay, I will send you a color swatch. Pick out your own dress and send me the bill. Get as close to the color as you can. My sister is going to be my maid of honor. Pride is going to stand up with Chris. You'll walk down the aisle with Cade. It's going to be a small wedding, just family."

I put the line on hold and went back to the kitchen to find Pride so that he could also speak with Mary.


	6. Chapter 6 - Not So Fast

Not So Fast (6)

I thought that meeting Sonja's mother would be the worse but I think I got that wrong. Rita came in one day before we knocked off and invited me to dinner with her and King. As I looked toward Sonja's desk Rita Said "no, Christopher, just you." I really thought that they were going to try to talk me into waiting longer but it was deeper and more personal.

Here I am back at the office. I dread going in there. I have no idea what they will say to me. Guess they will try to talk me out of it or at least push back the wedding date a year. If it's one thing that the death of Savannah and Cade's Windi has taught me, is that you don't have a guarantee to a long life. I know that I love Sonja and that she loves me. That's enough for me.

"Hey King, it's me" I announce as I let myself through the front door. Rita greets me at the kitchen doorway with a smile and says "come on back". The smell was only something that King could create. I handed Rita the bottle of wine and flowers that I had brought with me trusting that the red wine was the right choice. When I questioned it "You been around here long enough to know that Chris" King replied.

"What can I help with?" "Grab those wine glasses off the shelf over there" King directs.

Dinner was everything I would expect from any restaurant in 'Nola. After we ate, I helped Rita move the dishes to the sink. "I can take care of these later" she said.

By the time we returned to the table, King had refilled our glasses and thus started the interrogation! So you're sure you want to do this Christopher?" "Yah King" I responded. "Don't you think it's kind of quick?" "Define quick" I responded.

Rita interjected "It seems that you have only known Percy for a year. Duane tells me that you tragically lost your longtime girlfriend. I'm wondering if you have had enough time to grieve" "King will tell you how I grieved, It was not healthy. Momma thought that I was going to join Savannah in the grave. King rode my ass for months. Brody would give me that look, try to be supportive, but was lost in her own grief and determination to find out what happened to her sister.

Rita you don't know Sonja. Hell to tell the truth none of us do. She told me things about Brody within weeks of her coming to the team that I didn't know in two years about her. She comes across as hard, but underneath the crusty exterior there is a truly kind person. Even after I wounded her with the whole Tucker and Melody escapade, she still stood by me with kind words, suggestions and sympathy. Now that I know her better, I can look back and see the hurt in her face, her words and response to me and her situations."

"So how did that turn out Chris? I told you to tell her sooner than later and you didn't do it. I almost moved you to partner with Tammy but she said to give it some time and it might still work out." "Well Gregorio must have filled her in on the details because when I picked her at the airport after her step father died, all she asked about was me and Brody."

"So just what do you know about her? You know how she is King, like her life is one big secret." "Well that how she had to live for years Christopher. She was living a dual life being undercover. I have seen people get lost in that other life. You are going to have to crack those walls Chris or your marriage will fail." "Just how do you suggest that I do that?" I asked.

"You need to go to formal professional counseling." I look incredulous. "Don't look at me like that. You both have stuff buried in your hearts your mind and your souls. Remember that I knew you during Katrina Chris. You saw a lot of death and pain. Couple that with Savannah's murder, you need help confronting those experiences and that deep pain that you think no one else sees. Tammy must have seen something because she was there for you with the Tucker thing. You wouldn't turn to Percy, but Tammy told me after the fact that you were open to her before and after that episode in your life. It was Tammy who insisted that there was something between you two. I blew it off and until that morning you and Percy came to talk to me, I couldn't see it.

Counseling Chris. It's not an option. Loretta gave me the name of a good therapist. Book her." "Okay King" I said as Rita asks me about my new place.

I keep talking but I am seriously ready to get out of here. As I walk to the doorway, King speaks out "keep this between the three of us until your sessions are over with the Doc and don't ask Percy about her time with us until then either or you might find yourself on a one man detail to update the paper files."

Sonja's Dinner

Two weeks ago we all gathered for girl's night out and I was surprised to see Rita there. Tammy had invited her to tag along. I was okay with that until she asked for a ride back to Pride's place. Suddenly the hair stands up on my neck you know, that woman's sixth sense thing. "Sonja, Duane and I want to have you over for dinner next week. Could you find a night and let us know." "Sure let me check with Chris." "Well," she stuttered," this invitation is just for you. Chris joined us last night." I never had a clue.

So here I am a week later and I felt double teamed. This is so unfair. Chris wouldn't tell me one word that they said to him. It would seem that Pride threaten him with having to clean out all the files if he spilled a peep.

"Hello?" I hollered as I opened the door. "Hey Percy, come on back." I headed back to the kitchen following the sound of Rita's voice "Where can I put these Rita?" She pointed to the table where I sat down the flower vase. This is my favorite cake announced as I turned and sat it on the counter. It was a carrot cake with flax seeds and currents was moist and a great substitute for all that flour.

Everything smelled so good. "How can you stand it" Rita asked with a slight laugh. I want to pick up a fork every time I just walk through the doorway! Tofu and Vegies in a peanut sauce was the dish I would eat and Pride had prepared it to perfection complemented with mac and cheese and a red bean substitute cooked with coconut milk, ginger and garlic hit the spot. I tried to eat slowly fearing what would come after dinner. I helped Rita clear off the dishes and we rejoined Pride at the table.

"I know nothing about you" Rita starts out. "Well I only know a tad more" Pride chimes in. "Even your work history is scrubbed clean Sonja. I know that deep cover is mentally tough. I had to call in a favor from Vance to look at some of your assignments. You put away some very heavy hitters in a short time. The ATF was not quick to let you go. Vance had to give back two agents to Charleston to get your transfer approved."

'Well there's not a lot to tell.' I start out. "Come on Sonja you been in service for five years now. Start with Ramone." He turns to Rita and says "he almost killed her Rita." Well... I started talking and with Rita patting my hand, stuff just kind of spilled out. The next thing I knew I got a text from Chris telling me that he was heading home from the bar. The ding on my phone brought me back to reality and the realization that it was well past 10.

"We will tell you one thing that we told Christopher. You have to go to a professional counselor. Not knowing how not to integrate my family and my work I ruined my marriage Sonja. I looked up one day and my wife had had it and left with my baby. It was only after she left that she told me that she was afraid that I would get killed on the job and she couldn't live with that.

Between what you told us tonight and what I read in your case histories, you need to talk to someone and you need to know how to share this with the man you say you love." "I resent that Pride I do love Chris" I say. "Love and trust are two different things. You are good together as professional partners. You are going to need to be loving partners sharing your heart in a marriage. Someone needs to show you both how to do that. You can't keep those secrets from him Sonja. They will eat you both up. I didn't tell Chris this but as those secrets come out, you may decide that you can't go any further in a relationship with him. That is why you need to decide that now. If you can't trust him with your secrets, you are going to need to end it with him.

I know him Sonja, much better than you. He has a lot of pain. You have no idea what Katrina did to us. I had my music to escape into. I would play that piano for hours, bottle in hand, sleep and then go back out into that horror. Chris got angry and he got mean. He needs someone to love again. I'll be honest I never pegged you to be the one. Loretta somehow knew from early on. Something about you taking crime photos of a boot print on his chest? Tammy put it in her report to D.C. which I never understood." "Look Duane, you're a man. You look at your agents as professionals, we look at them as men and women too" Rita speaks up. "It's late I think we can let her escape from the cage now, Duane."

With that, I am out of there!


	7. Chapter 7 - The Phoenix Arises

The Phoenix Arises (7)

Sonja

In the end we both had to come in for a second single session because of what all the years in law enforcement had done to us. I also had the pain of being beaten up by my boyfriend in high school, the divorce of my parents and being shot while trying to take down Baitfish hanging out there.

Ramone was a whole 'nother story. I was deep, I mean deep into this cover. I saw way to many killings and I needed some comfort so I allowed myself to become intimate with him. He seemed to care for me and I was able to escape from all the dirt and dirty people surrounding me. I allowed my feelings to cloud his involvement in the operation. It wasn't until I went 'back in' when the Vets came back to town that I realized that Ramone was a king pin too. He was the weapon supplier and his actions had cost several ATF agents and civilians their lives. He would have killed me this time if Tammy hadn't of rescued me at the last second. I was stupid and my idiocy cost some good men and women their lives.

Pride was right, there was so much pain. I ended up on the floor weeping over those agents and their babies that they did not return to. All that guilt and pain came out of me like a flood. Then there was Marian. I turned my back on her. She really was innocent in the beginning of the situation. She almost died because I did not believe that she wanted out. In the end both she and I almost died.

I couldn't even begin to talk about Christopher that night. She scheduled me for a second session to talk about the other men in my life and Chris. She asked about Savannah. I told her I had no ill will toward her. Chris loved her and because of his love for her I realized that he could make a commitment to another woman. The Christopher LaSalle that I heard of was a womanizer, men called women like Chris a hoe. He had had that lady killer smile and that drawl, but I was only impressed with his skill as an officer.

I had seen the light in his eyes when he talked about his mermaid. I also saw the pain in his heart every day when I sat next to him in the office and in the car after she died.

Then there was Melody and Tucker. It was only when I saw her in his house that morning that I realized how much I really did care for Chris. I had not allowed myself to think past the fleeting looks that he gave me but now confronted with another woman, I found places in my heart where Christopher had infiltrated. I would pick up his jacket and smell the aftershave on it. Tammy caught me one day and I lied and said I thought my dad use the same thing. I only then found myself confronted with the fact that I did care for him and now it was too late for me to do anything about it. I asked Chris one day what he wanted after he told me that Melody wanted more from him than he did and that she was not his idea of the wife. Before he could answer, a noise came from over the fence.

Tammy had ridden my ass after Clearwater. She got real sneaky about it. Always asking how I was doing, if I was ready to go back to the streets. Always dropping comments about something that Chris had said to her or the time that he was working on a door jam and it fell in on him. Of course she had no idea that I didn't want to hear it. She had no inkling how it crushed me to have him reject me that night. And so that pain had to come out too even though we were now officially together. How did I know that a situation wouldn't come up again and Chris would hide a former relationship from me trying to save my feelings? Hell, I knew of five other women personally that he had burnt.

Also with Chris came the daddy issues. Comparing him with the only other man I truly loved was common the counselor said. It is how all girls measure up men – against their father. While there were less tears that night, it didn't mean I was less tired. I was exhausted when I left the office and I still had a thirty minute drive to get home.

La Salle

Well if I thought that Pride and Rita were hard hitting, it didn't touch what the counselor had in store for me. Katrina had taken an unknown toll on my life and I still carried bitterness and some fear from being on the streets every day with the NOPD and the Feds not giving us what we needed to contain the violence and keep the city safe after 'Nola flooded. I had nearly gotten shot twice while with the drug enforcement task force. She told me that this trouble was going to surface sometime and that it was best to deal with it now and not wait until something trigger the memories.

I thought that I had cried enough but at the end of the initial session, the counselor told me that I had to come back. She was right of course and the next go around focused on the three women in my life. I had never really mourned Savannah until Sonja asked about her one night. Deeks had encouraged me to tell Sonja once I knew she actually loved me. Telling her about our early years was easy but talking about the time closer to Savannah's death caused me great agony. I was embarrassed to cry in Sonja's presence, but she took my hand and lay down with me on the sofa and in that intimate space I spilled my guts out to her tears, snot and all.

As I recounted my history and love story with Savannah to the counselor, I began to weep again. Then she asked me if I had shared any of this with Sonja. When I said that I had, she asked how Sonja reacted. It was then that I really lost it as I realized that Sonja had listened to me for several months talk about Savannah and never offered any hint of being jealous or tiring of hearing about her. I managed to get out about the night that I went to my old house and told Savannah that I had met someone else and was going to try to move on with her.

I did not realize how wounded that I was from Melody. Even though I had tried to forgive her, deep in my heart I still harbored resentment from her using me. I had grown to love Tucker and his removable from my life hurt immensely.

I already knew the truth when the counselor said that it looked to her that I was able to be secure with Sonja both on the job and at home. I finally left the sorrow there that night and while I often think of Savannah and Tucker, the memories now bring only a smile to my heart.

We attended two joint sessions with the counselor. The first was to talk about what we wanted in a relationship and if we wanted children. She also asked us if we would have an open or closed marriage. That one surprised me because just the thought of Sonja being with another man made see red.

She asked how our families and friends felt about us being in an interracial relationship and if we had considered what it might be like to raise children together in a multicultural manner. An hour later in the session we were still talking about details that I thought we had hashed out weeks ago.

The discussion in the second joint session revolved around our hobbies, finances, retirement plans and if we wanted to buy a home. We had seen the list in some books and knew that she was going to ask about the types of music, books, food, TV shows and movies that we liked as well faith issues. We told her that we had hashed out the food thing since Sonja was vegan. Sonja didn't have a TV but I had to watch my 'Bama teams and the Falcons. She encouraged us to stay with our 'boys' and 'girls' night out and urged me to do some 'control exercises' to help me cope with the fact that Sonja was a better shooter and bowler than me and assured me that there would be others that would come out during the marriage.

At the end of the final joint session, she recommended some additional readings and encouraged us to periodically attend marriage seminars in the future. She reassured us both that as far as she could determine that we were able to confront the difficult parts of our lives and encouraged us to seek further counseling if the resurfaced events caused us any problems in the future.

She wished us well as we entered into marriage and commended us for making the relationship legal as well as social.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Wedding

The Wedding (8)

Sonja

We drew a case three days before the wedding with all hands on deck. I had picked up my dress up two weeks before and had been wearing the shoes as much as I could for the past month. I found out that high heel shoes and boots don't mix! They use two separate groups of muscles. Thank goodness we had had the wedding rehearsal last Friday.

After being overwhelmed as I looked at a very long 'to do' list the first week, I told Chris that I thought that we should hire a wedding planner. Even though it was late on the calendar, Miss Loretta knew a woman who fit us in as a personal favor to Loretta. She took care of everything up to including the delivery time for the flowers and the cake set up at the Museum.

Both of our families were in town by then. My mom and sisters stayed at my house. Cade stayed with Chris and their mother and sister were in a hotel close to Tulane but they spent most of their waking hours at Chris' house or mine. My mom was there to make sure that all I had to do was go take a bath, do my hair and get dressed on the wedding day.

Fortunately Marty Deeks and Kensi Blye had flown in from LA to cover for Christopher and I while we were on our honeymoon. I knew her laugh before I had ever laid eyes on her. I had heard her in the car with Chris one day when he called while he was in LA last year. Chris and I split up and partnered with each of them providing them with key information and a lay of the land for their tour of duty in New Orleans.

Pride called us into his office late Thursday morning and said "go home you two, I'll see you Saturday. Chris, I'll call you later. You call me if you need anything in the meantime, though."

 **LaSalle**

 **Thank goodness Sonja had hired a wedding planner. She did it because we had rushed to have the wedding instead of using a year's time to plan like most couples did and she was overwhelmed on day two.**

 **The run up to the wedding was just crazy. Sonja and the wedding planner had made a list for King and me to do. She insisted that I arrange to pick up the tuxes a whole week before the wedding. Man was she right. Triple P's jacket was missing a button and Cade's shoes were the wrong size. And then low and behold we drew a big case. I blew up at King when he called me at home early Tuesday morning. I had forgotten to pick up the marriage license and had planned to do it on my lunch hour later that day. . Cade said he would go over to the University Friday and be available to help the planner move any heavy items during the set up since King and I had planned to do it.**

 **I decided to pick up Marty Deeks and Kensi Blye from the hotel since I figured that they would never find the office in the dark. The team was briefed up by King and an FBI team member who was serving as a liaison in the situation.**

 **By the time the briefing was over, the sun had come up. King had decided to cook breakfast and went into the kitchen. I thought I could smell bread and saw that Rita had slipped in and was making biscuits.**

Breakfast went down quickly and Deeks and I headed out to the hospital to talk to some witnesses. I ran by the marriage license office and picked the license. While we were alone, I was able to fill Deeks in on what happened between Sonja and me during the past few months. I told him that he was right on target particularly after I opened up to Sonja about Savannah. I had no idea that the pain was still there buried deeply and it came out after Sonja told me how she had been beaten by a high school boyfriend.

I also told him little about my dinner with King and Rita. They duplicated some of the comments that Deeks had said about her hurting me and had strongly suggested professional pre-martial counseling.

King called Sonja and me into his office early Thursday morning and told us to go home. Before I left, I retrieved the marriage license, Sonja's ring and a set of spare keys to both Sonja and my houses to give to King.

Here comes the Bride and the Groom.

The day of the wedding was finally here. I was so excited and I wanted to enjoy it because I had planned it to be my only wedding. Cade must have heard me bumping around because he was up in the kitchen making coffee when I came out of the shower.

I checked my phone again and saw a message from King and one from Brody. Brody sent me a photo of Sonja who was trying to mimic Bridezilla. Her hair was standing all over her head and her face was covered with some goop.

King arrived about 9:30 and brought breakfast. I didn't think that I could eat, but between Sabastian trying to spoon feed me and the delicious smell, I managed to get some to go down.

All dressed, we loaded into three vehicles for the ride to Tulane. Cade quickly disappeared and then reappeared flashing the okay sign. King said something to him then Triple P and Cade disappeared together.

About noon the Navy Chaplain and Petty Officer Jonathan Rudd appeared at the doorway. Most of the team had not met young Rudd when we worked the Clearwater case and the murder of Commander/Chaplain Henry Morgan. King had kept him close after that trying to fill the gap in his life left by the Chaplain's demise and his own loss of Calvin Parks another young man that King had mentored. I had tried to be there too but I sometimes felt out of place as I did not fit into their 'boys' club of service. Even Tammy seemed a better fit as I listen to them talking about some obtuse Navy tradition time after time.

Loretta and the boys popped in to hug my neck. I had asked Danny to wear his uniform. Another one of those things I found out about my soon to be wife –- she loves a man in uniform.

Mom comes through next. I was doing okay until she showed up. I suddenly felt like that little boy who had fallen down and skinned up his knee. She had told me last night that she will miss our closeness. "Momma I'm not going anywhere" "No Christopher, you're not going anywhere but I am". I looked at her puzzled as she said "after Saturday' I will no longer be the most important woman in your life. Sonja will take that special place." We hugged and both cried. Here we are again in an embrace but this time I manage to hold back the dam of tears.

King came back in the room and pulled me aside. He handed me my notes that Rita had typed up for me on a note card and reminded me one more time about the service order.

Done! Okay let's do this.

Sonja

How can I still have doubts? I thought that I had gotten past this in my sessions. I'm still not sure that I can be all that Christopher needs. It's been an effort to be transparent with him. For years I lived a double life and I still find it hard to fight. I went back and spoke with Pride and found out that my health insurance would cover more one on one counseling for me. He gave me bogus runs to go see Loretta and cover for my time out of the office.

My mom blew through here are few minutes ago. She greeted me as I awaken this morning. I think that she is more excited than I am about today. Mom and the girls were already up when I got out of the shower. I found them in the kitchen. Rita had laid out a selection of fresh fruit and rolls and made me some tea. I hadn't eaten much the past couple of days between showing the LA replacements around the city and my anticipation of today. I was nearly force fed while being reminded that it would be about midnight before I would be checked into our room.

There was a knock at the door to let us know that the limo was here. We gathered up everything and headed out. I looked around one more time knowing that I would return here as Mrs. Christopher LaSalle and hoping that this was what we both really wanted and could live with.

The driver and wedding planner helped us unload at Tulane. Tammy had popped her head in quickly and as quickly disappeared. There was a knock at the door and I discovered that she had gone to get the chaplain. He said he wanted to come in and pray with me and wanted to make sure that I still want to follow through on the marriage. Chris told me yesterday that he had asked him the same thing a few days before as they visited the venue.

After the chaplain left, my mom and Rita helped me get into my dress. Another knock. Now who was this? Triple P. He wanted to take pictures. This actually made me relax as Tammy and P bantered back and forth. My mother started to cry again. "This is my little girl" she sobs. Brody warned me not to cry and mess up my painted face.

The Ceremony

Suddenly I hear music. Laurel and Pride had helped me picked out the selections. They were playing the first song in the actual wedding. It was something that Chris had played over and over again right after Clearwater. I kind of knew who Faith Hill was. I remember this cute song she had called 'This Kiss'. Chris showed me the video featuring her and her husband Tim Mc Graw when we were going through counseling. He said that he had played it over and over again because he could identify with the words. He just knew that he had made it so I would never want to be with him after he told me that we had to think of the team and insinuated that there could be no 'us'. I had to learn to let things like this go as I thought I would never understand country music.

The flower girl and her mom had left a few minute earlier so she could make one last potty run. The kids were the center of the first "wedding" issue that Chris and I argued about. Every wedding that I had attended where there were kids went south. At one the little boy got sick and threw up all over his mother's dress as they stood at the altar. Another one knocked over the punch bowl as her older brother chased her at the reception. I gave in to this one to Chris and warned him it better work out.

Mom squeezed my hand and walked toward Danny who would escort her to her seat. Boy did he look handsome in his dress whites. Daddy kisses me and falls into step behind them.

I saw the flower girl and go around the corner as I came out of the room. I was about to start walking and here comes Tammy. "What?" She looks at me and nervously replies "I promised Brody that I would do one more walk around before you go down the aisle and with that she actually walks around me, pulls a little on my train and straighten outs my flowers. Then I look up to see Sabastian who gives the okay sign.

As I turn the corner, I can barely hear the music. I had always loved the movie the Sound of Music and chose their wedding march for today. As I stand there, the musicians stop and pause and then begin to play the open strains of the song. Christopher walks slowly to me and takes my arm as I smile. We wait for the place in the music where in the movie the nuns start singing 'how do you solve a problem like Maria' and start to walk back toward the chaplain.

When we got within a couple of feet of the where he stood we stopped. Pride handed Christopher a yellow rose and he walked over to my mother. He had shown me earlier the words that he would say to her now.

As he took his place once again by my side, I turned to my sister and handed her my bouquet as she handed me a second yellow rose. I walked over to Mrs. LaSalle and as I handed her the rose I said "thank you for raising such a kind and loving man. Every day I have trusted him with my life. Today as I marry him, I will entrust my heart to him. I know that he will be a great husband and a wonderful father."

I return to my place by Chris and retake my bouquet from my sister. For just a moment I look at each flower and think of what they mean to us. The bouquet included some Indian Paint Brush from Alabama, white magnolias from Louisiana and my favorite yellow roses. Then I give Chris my hand as we take a few steps toward the chaplain.

Christopher

Laurel and King had put together the music and the instruments after Sonja and the wedding planner decided on the musical selections. Laurel would be at the grand piano with a harpist, a viola, a violin and a cello. Sonja wasn't so sure at first that she wanted such a formal group but King assured her that the group could do the Robert Flack song at the reception too.

King caught my eye and I walked toward him. We continued to the back entrance of the hall and came out next to the altar. Triple P played a recording of a Faith Hill and Tim Mc Graw duet entitled 'Like We Never Loved At All'. I played that song over and over and drank a little too much after Clearwater knowing I had messed up so badly that night. I could identify with the characters in the video. Sonja had gotten so mad at me when I walked away from her after Clearwater. Thinking about it now brought a smile to the corner of my mouth as I remember how we were able to create our own magic and passion that Faith sang about. I'm going to get through this I thought.

The group started to play and I look up to see Brody and Cade come down the aisle. It was only the second time that I remember seeing Brody in a dress. She looked lovely in Sonja's favorite color of purple. It matched the purple in our Kenta cloth vest.

Next comes the kids. It's the only now that I start to doubt my decision about having the children in the wedding. Sonja was adamant at first but I wanted little DJ in the wedding. He had tagged along many Saturday mornings with his dad and me when we visited children at the hospital. I now look up seeing his dad pleading with him to turn around. Little Melissa was doing just fine. Basket in hand she had begun to carefully drop her yellow flower petals. DJ got turned around and was matching her step for step when he suddenly jumped into an ultimate fighter position, raised his right leg into the air knocking the basket right out of the hands of the unsuspecting flower girl. At that Melissa burst into tears. I see her mom go over and Loretta and Rite leave their seats to help get the little girl who was trying to pick up the petals through her tears. This situation proved to me that paying a wedding planner was more than worth the money. Evidentially Loretta had another bag of flower petals to refill the basket. The three of them sent the kids back down the aisle, this time a few feet apart.

Next came Sonja's sister smiling broadly. She takes her place near the front across from King.

I look up to the doorway and there was my bride. Sonja took my breath away. There isn't really a better way to describe it.

As the musicians change songs from 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' to the Wedding March from the Sound of Music, I slowly walk back toward Sonja. She smiles at me as she takes my arm and after a few seconds we start to walk together toward the chaplain.

When we reach the front, King hands me a yellow rose and I walk over to Sonja's mother. As I hand her the rose, I tell her "I love your daughter and hope that on this day you will accept me as your son. I promise to love her and keep her close to my heart both day and night" Surprised, she quickly said "I will Chris" through her tears.

I return to Sonja's side as she hands her flowers to her sister and takes an identical yellow rose and walks toward my mother. I couldn't hear what she said to momma. I just saw mom put her handkerchief to her eyes. Sonja rejoins me and takes back her flowers, turns and the four of us take two steps toward the chaplain.

"Dearly beloved, he begins...

The service progresses to the point where I say my vows. "Sonja, I can't put my finger on the minute that I began to love you. I tell everyone it was the day when you let Nadine go, but it was before that. The first day I met you in the clinic, I had tried to look beyond that smirk. On the levy I realized you were a real spark and every day since you have tried to prove that to me. Your kind words and love and concern at my personal loss helped me return to the life of the living. You took me to task when I deserved it and you loved on me as a sister when I needed you. While we tried to work on cracking through your tough exterior, I saw you open your heart of friendship to Brody and Gregorio making us all a real team. Before our friends today I am promising you that I will never leave you until you prove to my heart that you don't want me anymore. I look forward to loving only you, growing old with you and bringing new life together into this world. While others may address us as City mouse and Country mouse or Butch and Sundance, I will always address you as my beloved one and wife."

Sonja's vows.

I had determined that when the time came for me to say my vows to Chris that I would not cry. I straight forwardly say to Chris "since I was a little girl, I had dreamed that I would marry Prince Charming and God sent me you. Few women work side by side their husband and fewer women have actually put their life into his hands. I appreciate how you have been a loyal friend to me and our team at NCIS. I love seeing you interact with the children at the hospital. I enjoy watching you as you cheer on your 'Bama teams and as you chow down on any dish from a 'Nola restaurant. I am thankful that you saw in me someone that you could love and be a husband to. I promise you to continue to allow our relationship to grow and look forward to the future as we expand our family and grow old together. I love you Christopher LaSalle and I will do my best to honor our marriage and our life together."

At this we say our "I do's" and exchange rings. The chaplain then announces those famous words and proclaims us man and wife. Chris kisses me and as I open my eyes, I see Danny moving to the front with the 'Broom'.

In some communities, marrying couples will end their ceremony by jumping over a , either together or separately. This practice was used in a marriage ceremony for in the 1840s and 1850s at the ceremonies of slaves whom were often not permitted to wed legally. Its revival in 20th century culture is due to the novel and miniseries . Our family's broom was created by my mom's sister. The lace bow tied on it came from the wedding dress of my mother's grandmother. The chaplain then announces us as Mr. and Mrs. Christopher LaSalle and Chris takes my arm and we jump in unison over the broom.

We walk back up the aisle and stop right outside of the door way then waited for Pride and my sister to form the receiving line. As the last guest passed through, we went to the next doorway to cut the cake. The wedding cake alluded to Christopher's adopted New Orleans. Here the wedding cake sometimes comes with an extra set of decorations. Silver charms attached to ribbons are baked into the bottom layer of cake. During the "ribbon pull," all the single ladies gather around to choose a string — and their fate. Each charm represents a particular destiny. Popular charms include a ring (next to marry), a heart (symbol of new love), and a four-leaf clover (good luck is on its way).

We wanted to honor those we serve who are members of the Marines and Navy so I asked Tammy to set a remembrance table. She placed a note on it to describe the items on the table.

 _This small table which occupies a place of dignity_

 _and honor. It is set for one symbolizing the fact that members of our armed_

 _forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POWs and MIAs._

 _We call them comrades. They are unable to be with their loved ones and_

 _families, so we join together to pay humble tribute to them, and to bear_

 _witness to their continued suppressors._

 _The table is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his_

 _or her suppressors._

 _The table cloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond_

 _to their Country's call to arms._

 _The single rose in the vase, signifies the blood they may have shed in_

 _sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America._

 _This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades_

 _who keep faith, while awaiting their return._

 _The red ribbon on the vase represents the red ribbons worn on the lapels of_

 _the thousands who demand, with unyielding determination, a proper_

 _account of our comrades who are not among us._

 _A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate._

 _The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of_

 _families as they wait._

 _The glass in inverted; they cannot toast with us at this time._

 _The chair is empty. They are NOT here._

 _The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to_

 _illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a_

 _grateful nation._

 _The American Flag reminds us that many of them may never return - and_

 _have paid the supreme sacrifice to insure our freedom_

As we move to the front of the room, I asked Triple P if he could show the wedding pictures to me real quick. He turned a funny color and waived at Chis. Hey LaSalle, your new wife wants to see the wedding video. "Well honey not right now. He's going to edit and send them to us in Washington where we can watch it together." Wait, what was that smirk that I saw on Tammy's face for?

Laurel's group played our Roberta Flack song 'Killing Me Softly' as Chris and I danced. Then they played 'Sun Rise, Sun Set' from the musical Fiddler on the Roof as I danced with daddy and Chris danced with his mom. After that Triple P put on some music on the sound system until Pride gave us the sign that we needed to be on our way.

Chris went to change his clothes and gave Cade his tux and shoes as Cade handed him his bag and gun. I hugged Brody and Mom one last time as Chris moved aside to let me walk to the limo.

We made out in the back seat like a couple of teenagers until the driver knocked on the window having arrived at my house. Chris helped me unfold the dress and held my veil until I got out of the car. He had to help me unbutton the dress and when done asked me with that sly look on his face "why should I stop now?" as he backed me up to the bed.

I'm still not quite sure how we made it to the airport on time, but Pride must have warned the driver as we had heard the driver honk the horn earlier and now he was knocking loudly on the front door.


	9. Chapter 9 - Blending Our Love

Blending our love (9)

I suggested to Sonja that we go to Washington D.C. for our honeymoon. I knew that it was her dream to see the African American History Museum. A classmate of mine I died in Iraqi Freedom and was buried at Arlington. Sonja's aunt had been in the Woman's Army Corps (WAC) in WWII. The Women in Military Service for America Memorial stood right outside the main gate of Arlington. My uncle was at Iwo Jima. King, Gibbs and Gregorio had been Marines and Sailors. It would be more than a honeymoon as it would most likely reveal some deep issues within each of us facing those things that had been burned into our soul.

We spent two days at the museum. Loretta had recommended to Sonja that she should try to get tickets for two days. One set under my name and one set under Sonja's name.

I must admit that I was not ready for the visit to the African American History Museum. I'm from the south and pride myself in my roots. While we wave the confederate flag, we do not talk about the inhumane way that we treated those we enslaved. Sonja had come prepared with a bag full of tissues. We had to stop several times so that she could get her composure back. The counselor had been right to encourage me to do this. I saw the raw pain not only of this woman that I loved more than life itself, but that of many of those standing around us. If I was going to be married to a black woman, she told me that I was going to need to really understand what was going on in her heart and in her mind and how her history had formed her who into she was. While I knew I would never really understand what it was like to be a woman, I could understand the inhumanity of Americans enslaving others.

As I saw the slave quarters and the many tools used to discipline those enslaved individuals, I wanted to puke. Before we came to D.C. I had read an article about the 'Strangers Graveyard' which was used between 1775 and 1815. Most of the stones had one name on them. Like James or Samuel or Mary. There was no dignity at that time. Few slaves had a surname as they were just property. Then there were the many small graves. There must have been a dozen graves of babies. How the mothers must have mourned.

Moving up to the higher fIoors I thought that the sorrow was behind us, but I was wrong. The story of the lynchings and murders were more than I could even take. I never knew where that song "Strange Fruit" had come from. I just knew that the singer Billie Holiday sounded like she wanted to die as the words flowed from her mouth. Percy's father's grandfather disappeared one day coming from town. She said they had heard that he was chased down by a bunch of 'boys' on horseback. They never saw him again.

We went back to the hotel after several hours. Sonja did not eat much that evening and cried much of the night as I held her in my arms. I finally dozed off trusting that tomorrow was going to be a better day.

I left the hotel hopeful that Sonja was right. The first night I went to her house when we got together, I stood in front of this matted photo that she had of the Museum. She said that it would make you 'laugh and cry and sing want to shout.' WelI I was ready for the laughing.

As we continued to rise higher to each floor, I saw the accomplishments of a gifted people. I thought I knew about Jackie Robinson but not really. I had seen a movie of him but I did not realize the depth of the hatred or the death threats issued toward him. Then there was the boxer Jock Johnson and of course Mohammad Ali. My uncles had talked about how arrogant that both boxers had been but it was only here that I realized how much they hated these successful and outspoken black men.

What also stuck me were all the items created/invented by African Americans. The list included the blood bank, the refrigerator, the electric trolley still used in 'Nola, the dust pan, comb, mop, brush, clothes dryer, lawn mower, traffic signals, stop sign, the pen and the pencil sharpener. Many Americans had been saved on the battle field with blood plasma and others with open heart surgery and heart transplants. That night I had a happier wife. We ate early and went to bed. I said bed not sleep.

Our next day was spent at Arlington. I'm glad it was a cloudy day because we did a lot of walking outdoors. I had never seen the Tomb of the Unknown. The precision of the soldiers as they marched commanded your attention with every step. I had read about President Kennedy and his brother Robert and found their graves in such stark contrast to the other one. We found the graves of several other notables like an old actor Lee Marvin that I liked watching on TV as a kid.

We got back on the tram to find Mark's grave in the section of those who died in Iraqi Freedom. This time I was doing the crying as Sonja tucked a tissue into my hand. It was only when I stopped to take a couple of deep breaths that I was able to process exactly how the gravestones moved crossed the horizon. It overwhelmed me at the moment what the price of freedom had cost this country and I started crying all over again. We discovered that there are remains of more than 300,000 veterans in 70 burial sections, and 38,500 remains in the eight columbarium. There are 396 recipients buried in Arlington, nine of whom are . More than 3,800 former slaves, called "Contrabands" during the Civil War, are buried in Section 27. Their headstones are designated with the word "Civilian" or "Citizen".

Percy

After a short lift to the main gate, we made a left hand turn to visit the **Women in Military Service for America Memorial.** My family was so proud of my Aunt Bunny. Her name was Bernice, but she hated that name. Aunt Bunny had joined the Woman's Army Corp at 20 over the objections of her father. She reported for training to a small base in Iowa called Fort Des Moines. Des Moines was in the capitol city of Iowa. She wrote them that the Army wasn't exactly what she expected and she was very homesick, but she said that the people in the black community opened their up their homes to them reminding her of family dinners back in Memphis. She commented that Des Moines had a district called Center Street. It had a Lodge (club with booze) where they went a couple of times to dance. But there was a collection of beauty salons that stayed open late on weekends to accommodate them that meant the most to them.

She ended up going to England as a mechanic with an all-black woman's unit called the 6888 Postal Battalion. I remember seeing a picture of a woman hanging in her front room. She told us that the woman's named was Charity Adams and she had been the unit's commander. We found Auntie's name among the thousands and then I begin to cry. Chris took my hand as I explained to him that a white officer had nearly struck her while she was in England saying that the vehicle he was checking out wasn't clean enough and then called her a racial name.

I left impressed with the sacrifice that the women had given in service to the nation. I was so glad that I had been taught about Lt. Col Adams along with Anne Dunwoody, Oveta Culp Hobby , Mary E. Clarke , Mildred Bailey and all the women who died, were injured or were captured by the enemy and survived their time as POWs.

I also learned on our tour that during the same time period that other branches of the U.S. military had similar women's units, including the Navy , the of the Coast Guard, , and the (civilian) (WASP). Every once in a while I would come across the name of my personal sheroe, Tammy Duckworth, who is now a U.S. senator from Illinois. Lt Col Duckworth's helicopter fell during opening engagement of Iraqi freedom. In spite of her severe injuries, she pulled several members of her crew out the helicopter. Eventually she lost both of her legs.

Chris

I exited out of the **Women in Military Service for America Memorial absolutely** amazed. I had no idea so many women had served and died while wearing a uniform. Even now I hear Rita talking about how I would need to know Percy's pain. Learning the stories of these women showed me some of what Percy must have also gone through trying to be a 'good soldier' in the ATF with men all around her doubting her ability, sexually harassing her and doing their best to put her down.

We walked out of the **Women in Military Service for America Memorial building** and headed to the Iwo Jima Memorial also known as the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial which honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. Every day Sonja and I interact with Sailors and Marines in New Orleans. What a proud group of warriors. I am always impressed with the discipline that King and Gregorio have. And while Sonja, Brody and I care about every GI we come into to contact with, they see them as a brother or sister of a club that I will never belong to.

The following day we decided to stay in the hotel. How can one dread their honeymoon? But this was the day that I decided that we would look at the wedding video – Kung Foo kick and all. First thing that morning I went down to the track and came back to find Sonja on the phone with Abby at NCIS. I took the phone from Sonja and greeted Abby. I knew Abby well and reminded her that we were on our honeymoon, goodbye. We took a long, but not long enough, shower together. I watched her comb out her hair and for a minute could imagine her doing the same to our daughter.

Children were another thing that Rita and Pride had brought up to us during our one on one dinner with them. I had seen what a wonderful father King was. He and his daughter Laurel were close. He fretted over her, laughed with her, argued with her and loved on her in the same steady manner.

We decided that we would wait at least five years to go down that path. Making that decision did not only put us on the same page, but helped us to fend off the future grandparents with the fact that babies were not in the immediate future.

There was a knock at the door. Looks like the chow bag was on.

We stayed in our robes the rest of the day and talked about what we had seen. We were both able to comfort each other through our words and tears as we relived the painful moments of the time we had already spent in D.C. The marriage counselor had told us how good this experience would be for us and I knew she was right when I realized that night that our intimacy had moved another notch up.

Then I told Sonja that I had gotten a text from Triple P with pictures of the wedding and the video. Chicken me started with the photos. They were just beautiful. We got out paper and chose some that we wanted to frame and/or put in our wedding album.

Then came time for the video. I started the video after figuring out how to get it to play on the TV. I suggested Sonja sit on my lap. Triple P had inserted footage that Brody had taken at Sonja's house when she first woke up, then when she came out of the shower with her hair every which way. A group picture of them all getting into the limo followed next. As they pulled out of the drive a NOLA police car gave them an escort to Tulane. Into the building. There was more on tape of the girls now in their dresses and the cute little flower girl with her mother. There were similar tapings of scenes at my house with all the guys inserted.

The next scene showed Laurel and her group playing 'Because You Loved Me' by Celine Dion and the Faith Hill/Tim Mc Graw song then King and me coming out of the side of the hall with the chaplain.

The music changes to 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' and down the aisle comes Brody and Cade and then Sonja's sister. Then the moment I dread. "Oh look, he does look cute Chris. Guess I was wrong about the no kids thing" Sonja says. Then at that point little DJ moves, thrust his foot into the air and promptly knocks the flower basket out of little Melissa's hands. Sonja jumps off my lap and screams at me. I can't repeat what she said. I don't know what was funnier, her reaction or what I just saw that had happen on the screen. I went after her and begged her to unlock the bathroom door. "What do you want Christopher LaSalle?" she said through the door. "I want to kiss my wife and beg her for forgiveness" I replied. At that I hear the door click and she opens it and sternly says "start talking Bubba." I do my best groveling move and slowly move my hands up her legs. Now past her waist, I take her hands and say "look baby, I'm sorry for what happened, but I wanted DJ to be part of our wedding. A few weeks from now you will laugh just as hard as we all did when it happened." With that I kissed her on that place on her neck of least resistance and she took my hand as we went back toward the sofa and TV to watch the rest of the video.

The remainder of the week was filled with visits to more monuments. The Lincoln and Martin Luther King Memorials were book ends of the week. We knew we could not do the entire tourist thing this time and thought that we might come back with our children. As we walked back up into our room that last night, I reveled in the fact that we had seen the two men who had freed our nation from the scourge of slavery and hate.

Sonja

We leave tomorrow to return to 'Nola. I am so glad that we took Rita and Pride's suggestion that we do pre-martial counseling. It was Christopher's suggestion that we honeymoon in D.C. I had no idea that I would be so affected by the visit to the Museum. It was so painful down to my gut. I don't know how I got through the mid-century with all of the lynchings, killings, burnings and beatings. My grandparents had lived during the 50's and 60's so some of the stories like the bus burning, Selma and the 16th Street Church Bombing were real to me as they had experienced them in their lifetimes.

I was also touched by Christopher's reaction to the lower levels of exhibits. He had lived in the south all his life but had never seen America through the eyes of a black person. In our counseling session Doc had told him that he needed to know what my family had went through because his children would most likely endure the same type of hate. This life experience has brought us closer together. We went to sleep each night in each other's arms sometimes laughing and sometimes crying.

He shared with me that Pride had reminded him that he needed to learn what made my heart sing. Pride said that he got so caught up in his own career of justice that he forgot his wife was there until it was too late and that he regretted squandering the opportunity for a 'forever' love.

Well morning is here. The time difference allowed us to take a later flight out of D.C. I made a mistake of taking a shower with my new husband. Things got a little out of hand and we barely made it to the airport in time for the flight. If we hadn't had a badge, we would still be standing there waiting to go through security.

LaSalle

We made it back to 'Nola right on time. We spent Thursday and Friday moving my things into Sonja's house as she refused to live on the water. We had agreed to try to buy a house in the city when we decided to start our family. The gun closet was the worse. I had to give an extra tip to the moving crew and they deserved it for moving that monster.

Sonja had already taped a list of 'honey do's' on the fridge. I chuckled as I guessed this was part of married life and to be honest, I don't have a problem with that.

Tammy and Loretta came over later Saturday morning to help us unpack and put away some of the wedding gifts. King and Rita stopped by with dinner about 6. I hadn't realized that Loretta had sat the table with a set of china, a wedding gift that Sonja could not wait to open at one of her showers. Flowers appeared from somewhere and were sitting on the table between the candles.

As we sat down to eat, I lit the candles and put on an old Johnny Mathias album. When the song 'Secret Love' came on, I got up and took her hand and pulled her into my arms. " My song " Sonja whispered to me. For months Sonja would not even think about allowing me to get close to her. After the hug she kept me at arms length and then after months of near death experiences realized that she needed to let love out of her heart. "Welcome home Mrs. LaSalle" I said just as quietly to a tired, but smiling Sonja. I smiled back thankful that destiny had seen fit to bring us together and had given me this beautiful woman as my wife and best friend.


End file.
